Sensory Bin Extravaganza!

Today I created not one but FOUR new sensory bins as birthday gifts for my twin nieces’ 2nd birthday. They’ve enjoyed playing with The Littlest Apple’s sensory bins, and I was looking for a birthday gift that was a little bit different from the norm. I really hope the girls enjoy them (and that they don’t come across as 4 bins of junk!) I had SO much fun shopping for this stuff…a little too much fun actually. I had so much extra stuff that I’ll have plenty of materials to make a couple of new bins for The Littlest Apple as well! All of the materials were purchased at Walmart, the $.99 Store, Dollar Tree, or Hobby Lobby. If you’re looking for a unique gift idea for a preschooler, might I suggest a sensory bin?

Ice Cream Shop Sensory Bin

I saw this idea on Growing Up Our Style and thought it was the perfect summer bin! This was the simplest of all the bins I put together.

Materials Used:

different sized multicolored pom poms

white pom poms

an ice cube tray

ice cream scooper

little ice cream bowls shaped like cones and spoons

Rock Garden Sensory Bin

Rocks are always popular for transferring, scooping and sorting, and in this bin, the rocks stand in for dirt for a gardening theme. (No worms and dirt this time!)

Materials Used:

Various sized rocks and pebbles

Gardening tools

Plastic frogs

Silk flowers

Pots for planting and scooping

Ocean Sensory Bin

This ocean themed sensory bin is another great one for summer! No water necessary, just use turquoise aquarium rocks for the water. I wish I had been able to find more fish. If I had more time, I would have added a crab and a tiny treasure chest (though there are 2 gold coins hidden in the rocks!).

Materials used:

Turquoise aquarium rocks

Aquarium net

Pink clam dish/scooper

Turtle (this and the starfish are toys that “grow” when you place them in water…we just liked the way they looked!)

Starfish

Seaweed for aquariums

Bait fish (these are extra squishy)

Foam mermaids

Foam glitter fish

2 gold coins

Rainbow Sensory Bin

All credit for this idea goes to Mari-Ann of Counting Coconuts. I took her idea of a rainbow bin using flowers from a lei and feathers and ran with it. This bin has SO much stuff going on. You really can’t even see all the rainbow elements included, but I think all of the bright colors are fun!

Materials used:

flowers from 3 leis

feathers

erasers

juggling balls

small sensory balls

beads

jewels

polka dot bucket for scooping

small cups for scooping

Since I purchased bins with handles on the lids, I just added ribbons and they were ready for gift-giving!

Hi You’ve got a great blog and I think you’d be interested in mine. I’d love it if you’d link up to my Tot Tuesdays party- a linky party dedicated to all things toddler: http://www.mydeliciousambiguity.com/ Have a great day!

We’ve opened the rock and frog tub for the girls so far- they threw out the frogs and flowers to get to the rocks, which they then proceeded to sort by size and feed to their baby dolls and stuffed animals. They served up the rocks in bowls with spoons, in bottles, and by hand. They were absorbed for about an hour, which is amazingly long for them. I’d consider it a major success.

Josh- I’m so glad that the girls have enjoyed the sensory bins so far. It’s always interesting to see how these kids decide to play with stuff. Finn tends to think “outside the box” (literally!) with his sensory bins as well….sometimes that’s a good thing, but sometimes it’s just a big mess. I can’t wait to hear which one is their favorite!

Thanks for linking back to me (@ Growing Up Our Style) and i love the idea to give sensory bins as gifts!

Loadsoftrouble

Thank you for sharing! These are super sensory ideas. I went out and bought the stuff to make the ocean and garden bin as soon as I read this. I can’t wait to play in them with my son. I used a plastic aquarium for the ocean bin I know he will love it.